Tool device

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a tool device which is suitable for use with a machine tool, in particular a hand guided machine tool, having a driving device moving, in particular in an oscillating manner, around a driving axis. The tool device has an attachment device which allows it to be fastened on a machine tool such that its driving axis and an axis of rotation of the tool substantially coincide. The attachment device, for absorbing the driving force, has at least two driving area regions, which are spaced apart from said tool axis of rotation and each has a plurality of surface points. The tangent planes to said surface-area points are inclined in regard to an axial plane, which encloses the tool axis of rotation. Furthermore, said tangent planes are inclined regard to a radial plane which extends perpendicularly to the tool axis of rotation. This means that the torque introduced into the tool device by the machine tool, via the driving device, is reliably absorbed.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is continuation of and claims the benefit of priorityof U.S. application Ser. No. 14/909,204 filed on Feb. 1, 2016, which isa national stage application under 35 U.S.C. 371 and claims the benefitof PCT Application No. PCT/EP2014/002048 having an international filingdate of 25 Jul. 2014, which designated the United States, which PCTapplication claimed the benefit of German Patent Application No. DE 202013 006 920.1 filed 1 Aug. 2013, the entire disclosures of each ofwhich are incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a tool device, which is suited to beused with a machine tool, and in particular with a hand guided machinetool having a driving device moving around a driving axis.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention will be described below mainly using the example of a tooldevice, which is suited for the use with a machine tool, and inparticular for the use with a hand guided machine tool that has adriving device rotating around a driving axis. This limitation of theillustration is not intended to limit the possible uses of such a tooldevice.

Instead of the term “tool device”, hereinafter will also be used in amore simple way the term “tool”. But this too, should not to beconstrued as a limitation.

A machine tool is a device which has one or more driving motors andpossibly one or more transmission devices. The driving device of thetool device is the component or the components, respectively, by whichthe torque is applied to the tool device, so usually a drivingshaft/output shaft, a driving spindle/an output spindle or the like.

A hand guided machine tool comprises a holding device, especiallyhandles and the like, by which the machine tool can be guided by anoperator with the tool attached thereto. Typically, the hand guidedmachine tools are equipped with an electric driving motor, but there arealso other types known, such as hydraulically powered machine tools orpneumatically powered machine tools or machine tools driven by musclepower.

In the prior art, a variety of tools are known, which are intended to beused with a machine tool having a circumferential driving device. Suchtools are, for example drills, grinding discs, cutting discs, circularsaws, and so on. These tools are attached to the output device,which—depending on the application, the tool and the machine—rotateswith a speed between near 0 up to several 1000 revolutions per minute,and in extreme cases also at a significantly higher speed. During theoperation, the tool is brought in contact with a work piece by a more orless high pressure, where it then carries out the correspondingmachining operation. The machining forces occurring in the distance fromthe pivot, for example the cutting forces or the grinding forces resultin a torque around the driving shaft, which is compensated for by thetorque transmitted from the machine tool to the tool device. Thetransmission of the driving momentum to the tool is made via theattachment device of the tool by which it is fixed to the drivingdevice. For a tool, which during the machining always rotatesessentially in the same direction, therefore, the forces acting on theattachment device occur essentially in the same direction, but aredifferent in height.

In the prior art, machine tools having a rotating oscillating toolreceiving device are also known. An oscillating drive of the tool deviceshould here be understood as no hub oscillating drive, like it is knownfrom a hacksaw device in particular. A hacksaw device should here beunderstood in particular as a keyhole saw device, a saber saw device ordrywall saw device or the like. A machine tool having an oscillatingdriving device should here be understood as a machine tool with amovement of the tool driving device, when the tool driving device startsmoving from a central position in a first rotational direction and it isbraked to a stop, and then the direction of rotation is reversed againuntil the moving is stopped.

The angular distance from the central position to the respective endposition may typically be up to 5 degrees. However, for the implementedmachines, usually, lower angles of 1 degree to 2.5 degrees are common,which corresponds to a total angular movement (1st to 2nd end position)from 2 degrees to 5 degrees. This oscillatory movement is typicallycarried out from 5,000 to 50,000 times per minute. However, there arealso smaller and higher oscillation frequencies possible (here expressedas oscillations per minute).

The reversal of the direction of rotation causes that the machiningforces of the tool also change their direction, wherein as known themachining forces act always against the direction of movement, or hereagainst the rotational direction, respectively. From the machiningforces changing their direction results a torque in correspondence tothe lever arm, that is the distance of the processing point of the toolto the rotational axis, wherein the torque reverses the direction by theoscillation. The torque resulting from the machining forces issuperimposed with another momentum, which is effective both during themachining but also in the idle, namely from the momentum of inertia ofthe tool torque for the decelerating of the tool after its highest speed(for example, each maximum amplitude of the sine curve for a sinusoidalrotational speed variation of the tool driving device) and thereacceleration of the tool in the opposite direction occurring after therotation reversal.

The torques, that arise by the machining forces and by the kinematicfactors of the oscillation drive are applied by the machine tool andintroduced via the driving device in the tool device.

The present invention has the object to design the tool device in such amanner that the torque, which has been introduced via the drivingdevice, can be reliably absorbed.

This object is achieved by the subject matter of claim 1.

The preferred embodiments of the present invention are the subjectmatter of the dependent claims.

According to the present invention, the tool device comprises anattachment device by which the tool device can be fastened on themachine tool in such a manner that its driving shaft and a tool axis ofrotation are substantially coincident. The term “driving shaft” and“tool axis of rotation” denotes the geometrical axis of rotation of themachine tool and the geometrical axis of rotation of the tool device,respectively.

Furthermore, at least two driving area regions are provided, which arespaced apart to this tool axis of rotation, each having a plurality ofsurface points. The term “driving area region” (hereinafter sometimesreferred to as “driving area”) refers to an area that directly orindirectly stands at least partially in contact with the output deviceof the machine tool to accommodate the torque from the machine tool. Theterm “surface point” here means points on the upper side of the drivingarea region and it should be understood geometrically.

The term is used to characterize the geometric point at which a tangentplane abuts against the area. The vector on the surface perpendicular tothe tangent point describes the orientation of the surface at this pointin a space, which is defined by, for example, a three-dimensionalcoordinate system or by other reference planes or reference surfaces.

A surface has an endless number of surface points because every point onthe surface is also a surface point in the present sense. To describe aunidirectional curved surface or a multidirectional curved surface forthe practice, however, it is sufficient to have a finite number ofsurface points. The term unidirectionally curved should be understood asa cylindrical surface, which is curved at each point in only onedirection, for example a cylindrical surface. The termmultidirectionally curved should be understood as a surface, which iscurved at least in one point in several directions, for example aspherical surface.

A flat surface has only one tangent plane, which coincides with thesurface itself. To characterize a flat surface, therefore a singlesurface point is sufficient, and this can be any point of the flatsurface.

Since surface points are geometric points, they are not visible on thesurface.

For the tangent planes to these surface points, special geometricconditions apply. The tangent planes, as usually in the geometry, arethe planes which are formed perpendicular to the normal vectors of thesurface points and which contact the surface at the surface point. Theterm “normal vector” means a vector which is oriented in this surfacepoint exactly perpendicular to the surface.

The tangent planes on this surface points are inclined in twodirections. On the one hand, the tangent planes are inclined against anaxial plane, which includes the output shaft. Further, these tangentplanes are inclined in regard to a radial plane, which extendsperpendicular to the output shaft.

Thus, the arrangement of this driving area region differs compared withthe known prior art tool devices for the oscillating machines.

For the known tool devices, as shown for example in the German patentapplication DE 10 2011 005 818 A1 and the German utility modelapplication DE 296 05 728 Ul, the tools in the connection region to thedriving device of the machine tool are of a substantially planar design.That means that they extend in this area in a plane, which isperpendicular to the tool axis of rotation.

It should now already be noted that in a preferred embodiment, thedriving area region is substantially flat, meaning that the normalvectors of all surface points are aligned parallel to one another, andthus the driving area region only has a single tangent plane as a whole.However, within the scope of the present invention, is also possiblethat the driving area regions are curved in an unidirectional manner orin a bidirectional manner. In this case, the normal vectors are then nolonger parallel to each other.

The invention is based on the following considerations:

The region of the tool, onto which the torque is applied, is subjectedto an alternating bending stress due to the oscillating moving. Theseare particularly problematic for the metallic materials from which thetools at issue here are usually made. The metals have a crystallinestructure. If local overloads arise in a region of a metal component,that means that the stresses acting on the component at this point arehigher than the stresses that can be tolerated by the component, thenmicro cracks can occur between the individual grains of the metalmicrostructure. These micro cracks affect the strength of the componentin two respects. On the one hand, in the region where micro cracks havebeen incurred, no tensions are transmitted in the component. This meansthat the stresses within this region can be increased by the crackformation, which decreases the effective area for the forcetransmission.

On the other hand, a phenomenon arises that is commonly referred to asthe “notch effect” in mechanical engineering. The name comes from thefact that in the region of a notch, especially when the notch is sharpedged, a local stress concentration occurs, which in the region of thesurrounding notch material leads to shear stresses, which are higherthan the shear stresses in the regions of the component which are notaffected by such a geometry.

These increased stresses cause the crack formation to progress, and iteventually leads to a failure of the component.

This process, which for example is documented in the works of Palmgrenand Miner, is called damage accumulation.

The properties of a material or a component to tolerate swinging loadsand in particular alternating bending stresses, is usually representedby the so-called SN curve of this component. The SN curve is based onthe finding that an alternating load, for the Wöhler fatigue test it iscalled load changes, in particular for a steel comprising component canbe tolerated in many cases on a permanent basis if the component canincur between 2 million and 6 million (in dependence on the material)such load changes at this load without a damage. In mechanicalengineering, one speaks then of the so-called fatigue strength of thematerial or the component.

An oscillating driven tool swings, as indicated above, for example witha frequency of 20,000 oscillations per minute. This means 20,000 loadcycles per minute in the diction of the operation fixed component designor 1.2 million cycles per hour.

The lower fatigue limit of the stress-test of 2 million load cycles isthus exceeded already after 2 hours of operation of the machine tool orthe tool.

Due to the inventive design, the torque load is increased that can betolerated by the tool device. This is firstly achieved in that thedriving areas are arranged at a distance to the axis of rotation. Sincethe force that be accommodated by the tool is determined as the ratio ofthe torque and the distance, it follows F_(r)=M/r (M measured as atorque in Nm, F as a force at the point r in N and r is the distance ofthe force application point away from the tool axis of rotation in m).

An enlargement of the force application point outwards, i.e. away fromthe tool axis of rotation, reduces the torque.

The inclination of the driving areas further results into that the forceapplication point is as a whole increased, whereby the local load isreduced, and for an appropriate design, the introduction of the force inthe remaining regions of the tool is improved.

A portion of the tool devices, which are commonly used at oscillatingmachines, has an operating region, which is arranged in thecircumferential direction, such as sawing tools and cutting tools. Theoperating region of the tools thus extends substantially in a planeperpendicular to the axis of rotation of the tool.

For such tools, it is common in the prior art, that the attachmentregion is also planar constructed. The driving momentum is theninitiated as a force in a direction perpendicular to the tool plane, forexample by pins, a driving star or the like. In the tool plane, the toolis especially stiff, so that the introduction of the force is performedonly over a relatively small region. In this region, it can then lead tohigher local stresses, which lead to a reduction in the operationalstability of the tool.

According to the present invention the force transmission is performedfor such a tool at first from the inclined area, whereby—for arespective construction—the force transmission area is increased, andthereby the local load is reduced.

It should be noted at this point that it is essential to reduce the peakloads. Because the wear or even the destruction of the tool is generatedand further promoted just by the above described stress concentrationsthat lead to micro cracks. A reduction of the peak stress concentrationscan achieve a significant extension of the life of the tool.

According to a preferred embodiment, there is at least one driving arearegion, for which at no surface point, the normal vector on this surfacepoint passes on a straight line extending through that the tool axis ofrotation. Therefore, such a driving area region is at no surface pointoriented toward the tool axis of rotation, but the driving area regionis “twisted” in regard to the tool axis of rotation. Thereby, thedriving forces of the machine tool are introduced tangentially on thisdriving area region at no point on the surface, so that the torquetransmission is further improved.

As already explained above, the driving areas are preferably designedsubstantially flat. This means that the driving areas have a planarregion with essentially the same tangent plane, which may be limited byedges, single curved surfaces or multiple curved surfaces, and so on.Respectively, by edges or curved areas, they can pass over into otherregions of the tool device.

The advantage of the planar driving areas is that by these a tool devicecan be provided, which on the one hand, both can be secured withoutclearance on the driving device of the machine tool—if it is designedaccordingly—and for which, when appropriate tolerances and materialproperties such as elasticity and so forth are provided, an area contactbetween the driving device of the machine tool and the tool device ispossible, whereby the region of the force transmission is increased.

According to a further preferred embodiment, the driving areas arecurved, at least in sections. The curvature may be designed bothunidirectional as well as bidirectional, convex or concave with a fixedradius of curvature or a variable radius of curvature.

The curved areas can also be designed such that by their shape andelasticity of the material, they are subjected to an elasticity, bywhich the curvature changes, and in particular by which the curvaturedisappears essentially from a certain load. That means that asubstantially planar driving area is provided.

In a preferred embodiment, the tool device comprises in the region ofthe attachment device at least a first upper boundary plane and at leasta second lower boundary plane. In this case, these boundary planes aredisposed substantially perpendicular to said tool axis of rotation.Further preferably, these two boundary planes are spaced apart.Preferably, each of these driving area regions is arranged between oneof these first upper boundary planes and one of these second lowerboundary planes, preferably in such a manner that the driving arearegion contacts the respective boundary plane, but that it does not cutit. In particular, by the arrangement of at least one driving arearegion between these boundary planes, a very large driving area regioncan be achieved and the stress on this driving area region iscorrespondingly low. Preferably, a first group of driving area regions,but at least one driving area region is arranged between one of saidfirst upper boundary planes and one of said second lower limit levels,and more preferably a second group of driving area regions is arrangedbetween a further first upper boundary plane and a further second lowerboundary plane. In particular, by the grouping of several of drivingarea regions and by the assignment of the boundary planes, both a simpleproduction of the tool device is possible, and secondly, a particularlyhomogeneous introduction of the torque on the tool device can beachieved.

In a preferred embodiment, a plurality of driving area regions extendsbetween a single first upper boundary plane and a single second lowerthe upper boundary plane. More preferably, all of these driving arearegions extend between a single first upper boundary plane and a singlesecond lower boundary plane. In particular, by the extension of thesedriving area regions between one first upper boundary plane and onesecond lower boundary plane, a torque transmission area with low spacerequirement can be achieved, and moreover, a lower necessary materialusage can be achieved. It is also advantageous, in particular, by thistype of design of the driving area regions, to achieve that the torqueis transmitted in a particularly uniform and thus gentle manner to thematerial to the tool device.

In a preferred embodiment, at least a first boundary plane and a secondboundary plane are provided, which are spaced apart from each other by adistance T. Preferably, the tool device comprises, in particular in theregion of the attachment device substantially a wall thickness t.Further preferably, the distance T is selected in relation to the wallthickness t from a defined range. It has proven to be advantageous toset the distance T and the wall thickness tin a relation. In particular,by this, favorable stiffness ratios in the attachment region of the tooldevice can be achieved and thus a favorable torque introduction from themachine tool into the tool device can be achieved. Preferably, thedistance T is selected from a range, wherein T is preferably larger thanone times t, preferably t is larger than two times t, and morepreferably it is larger than three times t, and further preferably, thedistance T is smaller than 20 times t, preferably it is smaller than 10times t, and more preferably it is smaller than 5 times t. Inparticular, if the wall thickness t is in a range between 0.75 and 3 mm,preferably if it is in a range between 1 to 1.5 mm, the distance T isparticularly preferably essentially 3.5 times t. For the present case,this is essentially+/−0.75 times t. In particular, by having thisrelationship between the distance T and the wall thickness t, stiffnessratios in the range of the attachment device of the tool device can beachieved, by which particularly favorable torque introduction into thetool device can be achieved, and thus a long service life of the tooldevice can be achieved.

In a preferred embodiment, the torque transmission region comprises aplurality of driving area regions. Preferably, said plurality of drivingarea regions is arranged rotationally symmetrical around the tool axisof rotation.

“Rotationally symmetrical around the tool axis of rotation” in the senseof the present application should mean that the plurality of drivingarea regions merges—seen geometrically—into itself by rotating aroundthe tool axis of rotation by at least an angle being greater than 0degrees and smaller than 360 degrees—or also by any angle. Inparticular, one of these angles is 360 degrees/n, where n is a naturalnumber greater than 1.

In particular, by a rotationally symmetrical arrangement of the drivingsurface regions, it is possible to reduce the additional stresses on thetool device and to evenly stress the driving area regions, respectively,and thus in particular to achieve an increased service life. Furtherpreferably, for a rotationally symmetrical alignment of the driving arearegions, the tool device can be accommodated in different angularpositions in regard to the tool axis of rotation. Preferably, the tooldevice can be shifted by discrete angular steps around the tool axis ofrotation and it can be accommodated on the machine tool.

In a preferred embodiment, at least two of these driving area regionsare arranged symmetrically to a plane of symmetry. Preferably, more thantwo of these driving area regions are arranged symmetrically to theplane of symmetry, preferably four. Here, in particular the tool axis ofrotation is in the plane of symmetry. Further preferably, these drivingarea regions are arranged substantially in an abutting manner. Anabutting arrangement in the sense of the invention can be in particularunderstood as such an arrangement, when the driving area regions areconnected by a transition region. Preferably, such a transition regionmay be formed by a curved area region or by an at least partially flatextending area region. More preferably, such a transition region abutstangentially on at least one, preferably on both of these driving arearegions. In particular, by a symmetrical and also abutting arrangementof the driving area regions, a particularly high stability of thedriving area regions can be achieved, and therefore a good forcetransmission to the tool device can be achieved.

In a preferred embodiment, the attachment device has a side wall.Preferably, said side wall is extending radially spaced from the toolaxis of rotation. Further preferably, this side wall is extendingbetween the first upper boundary plane and the second lower boundaryplane. Preferably, this side wall comprises the driving area regions. Inparticular, the design of the attachment region with a side wall resultsin a substantially hollow conical recess in the region of the attachmentregion, but this hollow conical recess has no circular cross section,but a cross section with a variable spacing of the side wall to the toolaxis of rotation in a direction orthogonal to the tool axis of rotation.In particular, by the described type of embodiment of the attachmentregion, a particularly stable attachment region, and thus a goodintroduction of the torque into the tool device can be achieved.

In a preferred embodiment, the side wall has substantially an averagewall thickness Preferably, the average wall thickness correspondssubstantially to the wall thickness t. Here, this wall thickness t₁ andt, respectively, is preferably selected from a defined range, whereinsaid wall thickness is preferably greater than or equal to 0.2 mm,preferably it is greater than 0.5 mm, and more preferably it is greaterthan 0.8 mm. Further preferably, the wall thickness is smaller than orequal to 4 mm, preferably it is smaller than 2 mm, and more preferablyit is smaller than 1.5 mm. More preferably, the wall thickness t issubstantially 1 mm or 1.5 mm, or preferably it is also a dimensionbetween 1 mm and 1.5 mm. In particular, by choosing a suitable wallthickness in the aforementioned range, it is possible to obtain one thehand a tool having a slight and thus a low momentum of inertia, and onthe other hand a tool being sufficiently stable.

In a preferred embodiment, this side wall extends essentially radiallyclosed around the tool axis of rotation. In another embodiment, the sidewall has recesses or interruptions on in its extension around the toolaxis of rotation. In particular, by a closed circumferential side wall,a particularly stable attachment region can be achieved; by a brokenside wall or by a side wall having recesses, an attachment device can beachieved which has particularly light and low momentum of inertia.

In a preferred embodiment, the attachment device has a cover surfacesection. Preferably, this cover surface section attaches indirectly orindirectly to at least one of these driving area regions. In this case,indirect connection of cover surface section with one of driving arearegions should be understood, in particular in that the surface sectionand the driving area region are connected by a connection region to eachother. In this case, such a connection portion should be preferablyunderstood as a curved wall or as a, at least in sections, straightextending wall. Preferably, the direct connection of cover surfacesection with at least one of these driving area regions should beunderstand in that this cover surface section is separated from thedriving area region only by a production related intermediate section,or that it directly adjoins it. Such a production related intermediatesection should be in particular understood as a bending radius, a slopeform or the like. Preferably, the extension of this cover surfacesection has at least one area component perpendicular to the tool axisof rotation. Further preferably, the cover surface section extends atleast in sections substantially perpendicular to the tool axis ofrotation. Preferably, by this configuration of the cover surfacesection, an additional stabilization of the driving area regions can beachieved.

In a preferred embodiment, the cover surface section is arrangedsubstantially in the region of one of these first upper boundary planes.Preferably, the attachment device has a particularly small radialextension in the region, in which the cover surface section is arranged.Further preferably, the cover surface section is substantially in theregion of the first upper boundary planes, further preferably it isarranged between one of the first upper boundary planes and the lowerboundary planes. In particular, the arrangement of cover surface sectionin the region of the first upper boundary plane is made easily, and itcan in particular lead to an additional stabilization of the attachmentdevice.

In a preferred embodiment, the cover surface section extends in theradial direction from radially outward toward the tool axis of rotation.Further preferably, the cover surface section has at least one recess.Further preferably, this cover surface section has several, preferably aplurality of recesses. In particular, by these recesses, the rotationalinertia of the tool device can be reduced, and thus its stress can bereduced.

In a preferred embodiment, at least one of these recesses is arrangedsubstantially in the region of the tool axis of rotation. Furtherpreferably, a plurality of these recesses is arranged substantially inthe range of this tool axis of rotation. Substantially in the range ofthis tool axis of rotation should be understood as in particular thatone of these recesses includes the tool axis of rotation, or that atleast one of these recesses immediately adjoins to the tool axis ofrotation, or that it has only a small distance therefrom. In particular,by the one or the several recesses in the region of the tool axis ofrotation, a simple attachment of the tool device on a machine tool canbe achieved, and thus a good transmission of the force from the machinetool to the tool device can be achieved.

In a preferred embodiment, one of or several of these recesses arearranged rotationally symmetrically around the tool axis of rotation.Further preferably, all of these recesses are arranged rotationallysymmetrical around the tool axis of rotation. In particular, by thistype of alignment of the recesses, an unbalancing with the movement ofsaid tool device can be avoided or reduced, so that an improved tooldevice can be achieved.

In preferred embodiment, one of the normal vectors on one of thesetangent planes is oriented in the radial direction toward to the outputshaft. Preferably, the normal vectors of several of, preferably of allof these tangent planes in the radial direction are oriented away fromthe tool axis of rotation. In particular, by this orientation of thetangent planes, the attachment device provides the shaft as compared toa conventional shaft hub connection. This configuration of theattachment region provides in particular the possibility of a simpleproduction, and that the driving forces of the machine tool are can betransmitted particularly uniform on the tool device.

In a preferred embodiment, one of the normal vectors on one of thesetangent planes is oriented in the radial direction to the tool axis ofrotation. Preferably, the normal vectors of several of, preferably ofall of the tangent planes are oriented in the radial direction to thetool axis of rotation. In particular, by this orientation of thetangent, the attachment device provides the hub portion in comparisonwith a conventional shaft hub connection. In such a configuration of theattachment region, the driving forces are transmitted by to internalsurface (hub portion), such surfaces are protected particularly wellagainst dirt and damage.

In a preferred embodiment, the tool device comprises at least oneoperating region, at least one attachment region and at least oneconnection region. Preferably, the operating region is configured to acton a work piece arrangement or on a work piece. A work piece or a workpiece arrangement should be in particular understood as a semi-finishedproduct, a machine element, a component, an arrangement of several ofthese elements, a machine, preferably a component of a motor vehicle, abuilding material, a building or the like. A operating region should bepreferably understood as a cutting device, a grinding device, a cuttingdevice, a scraping, a lever device or the like. Further preferably, aconnection region should be understood as a section of said tool device,through which the driving forces are transmitted from the attachmentregion to the operating region, wherein in attachment region the drivingforces are introduced from the machine tool onto the tool device.Further preferably, the connecting portion is a flat section, a curvedsection, a corrugated section or a bent section. Further preferably,this connection region is integrally formed with at least this operatingregion, or at least with this attachment device. Preferably, thisconnection region can be made of the same or of a different material asthat of the operating region or the attachment device, and it can beconnected to them. Preferably, this connection is form fit connection,force fit connection or material fit connection or preferably acombination of several of these types of connection. Particularlypreferably, it is welded, riveted, caulked or screwed. Furtherpreferably, a single connection region is disposed between theattachment device and each of those operating regions. In particular,the described configuration of the tool device with the attachmentdevice, the operating region and the connection region, an advantageoustransmission of the driving forces from the connection device to theoperating region can be achieved.

In a preferred embodiment, at least one of these connection regions isdisposed in a certain region of the attachment device. Preferably, atleast one of these connection regions is arranged substantially withinthe region of one of the second lower boundary planes, which is furtheraway from a receiving machine tool than the second upper lower boundaryplanes. Preferably, it is arranged in the region of one of the firstupper boundary planes, and more preferably it is arranged between theseboundary planes. Further preferably, at least one of these connectionregions coincide substantially with this second lower boundary planes.Further preferably, all of the connection regions are arranged in theform described above. Further preferably, the cover surface section, andpreferably one of, more preferably all of the connection regions aredisposed diametrically opposed to the connection device. That is, thecover surface section is disposed in the region of the first upperboundary plane/at least one of or preferably all of connection regionsare arranged in the area of the second boundary plane or vice versa. Inparticular, by the described type of construction and arrangement of theconnection regions, a particularly stable tool device can be achieved,and thus a uniform introduction of the torque into the tool device canbe achieved.

In a preferred embodiment, the angle α is included between one of thesetangent planes and this radial plane, wherein said radial plane isperpendicular to the output shaft. Preferably, the angle α is selectedfrom a certain range, wherein the angle α is preferably smaller than 90degrees, in particular it is smaller than 80 degrees and most preferablyit is smaller than 75 degrees. Further preferably, the angle α isgreater than 0 degrees, in particular it is greater than 45 degrees, andmost preferably it is greater than 60 degrees. More preferably, theangle α is in a range between 62.5 degrees and 72.5 degrees. Preferably,the angle α is selected in the above mentioned range due to thecomponent properties (in particular the geometry, the wall thickness,the modulus of elasticity, the strength and the like) of the torquetransmission region and/or the tool device and/or it is preferredbecause of the occurring forces. In particular, by the previouslydescribed selection of the angle α out of said range, a stable torquetransmission region can be achieved, and on the other hand also auniform introduction of the driving forces into the tool device. It isusually preferred to choose the angle α smaller than 70 degrees, sincethe risk of jamming is then lower. Here, the term “jamming” should beconstrued in such a way that the tool device can not be removed from themachine tool as scheduled, which means in particular without anadditional force. Effects similar to this “jamming” are known inmechanics especially as a self-locking. As an advantage, an angle α,which has been selected from said range (a 70 degrees), results into aparticularly low space requirement. As a further advantage, the tendencyto the jamming of the tool device can be reduced in this torquetransmission region by a smaller angle α (α<70 degrees). As aparticularly preferred range for the angle α, the range of 60 degrees(+1-5 degrees) has shown that in this way a relatively smallinstallation space can be achieved and that an accidental jamming of thetool device can be reduced or avoided.

In a preferred embodiment, the angle ß is enclosed between one of thesetangent planes and this axial plane, wherein the output shaft is locatedin this axial plane. Preferably, the angle ß is selected from a certainrange, wherein the angle ß is preferably smaller than 90 degrees, inparticular it is smaller than 70 degrees, and most preferably it issmaller than 65 degrees. Furthermore, preferably, the angle ß is greaterthan 0 degrees, preferably it is greater than 15 degrees and mostpreferably it is greater than 30 degrees.

More preferably, the angle ß is substantially 30 degrees, 45 degrees or60 degrees. More preferably, the angle ß deviates only slightly from oneof the aforementioned three values of the angle, wherein preferablyslightly below a range should be understood as of preferably +1-7.5degrees, in particular of +1-5 degrees and most preferably of +1-2.5degrees. In particular, by the described selection of the angle ß out ofsaid range, a particularly stable torque transmission region can beachieved, and thus a uniform torque introduction from the machine toolto the tool device can be achieved. The transmittable torque increasesin particular with a decreasing angle ß. Preferably, for configurationswhich desire a high transmittable torque, the angle ß is selected from arange of 0 degree <ß<30 degrees. In particular, the space requirementsdecrease with an increasing angle ß. Preferably, for configurations thatdesire a small space requirement, the angle ß is selected from a rangefrom 60 degree <ß<90 degrees. In a particularly preferred embodiment, inwhich a large torque is particularly transmittable and a low spacerequirement is desired, the angle ß is essentially 60 degrees.

In a preferred embodiment, the tool device has an even number of drivingarea regions. Preferably, the tool device has 4 or more driving arearegions, in particular it has 8 or more driving area regions, and mostpreferably it has 16 or more driving area regions. Further preferably,the tool device has 64 or less driving area regions, in particular ithas 48 or less driving area regions and most preferably it has 32 orless driving area regions. Furthermore, preferably, the tool device hasan odd number of driving area regions, and preferably it has even numberof driving area regions. Preferably, the number of the driving arearegions is a function of the size of the tool device. Furtherpreferably, a tool device may also have larger numbers of driving arearegions than those specified here. Here, a large tool device should beunderstood in particular as a tool device, which has essentially adiameter exceeding 50 mm or more. Further preferably, the tool devicehas a diameter of substantially 30 mm. In particular, by the even numberof the driving area regions, the driving forces of the machine tool canbe transmitted in pairs on the tool device. It has been found that aparticularly durable and thus improved tool device can be achieved, inparticular by this introduction in pairs of the driving forces on thetool device.

In a preferred embodiment, the driving area regions are substantiallyarranged in a star-like manner. Preferably, the driving area regions aresubstantially arranged in a star-like manner around the tool axis ofrotation. Further preferably, by the driving area regions, athree-dimensional body is described, which being cut by a planeorthogonal to the tool axis of rotation has essentially the base area ofa star-shaped polygon.

In the sense of the present invention, the term polygon should not onlybe understood to be the mathematically exact form having obtuse angledcorners or acute angled corners, but it should also be understood as aform in which the corners are rounded.

More preferably, the star-like disposed driving area regions appearsimilar to a toothed shaft of a conventional shaft hub connection,wherein the shaft has a conical basic shape due to the doubleinclination of the driving area regions. In particular, by thestar-shaped arrangement of the driving area regions it is possible toarrange a plurality of driving area regions in a small space and totransmit a large driving force from the machine tool securely to thetool device.

A series of tool devices according to the invention comprises at leasttwo of said tool devices. In this case, such a tool device has inparticular a reference plane. The reference plane is perpendicular tothe tool axis of rotation. The reference plane has at least onereference diameter or another reference dimension of the driving arearegions. In this case, a first distance Δ of a first surface of thecover surface section for the reference plane for different tool devicesof a series lies between a first lower limit and a second upper limit.

In the sense of the invention, a reference plane should be understood asa plane whose position is determined in the axial direction of the toolaxis of rotation, that it contains the same reference diameter for afirst tool and at least one further tool of this series. In this case,the axial position of this reference plane in the axial direction may bedifferent from at least a first and a second tool of this series,because of the double inclination of the driving area regions. By thereference plane, the axial position of the reference diameter for a tooldevice is particularly defined. This leads in particular in the axialdirection to a fixed reference point for several tool devices of acommon series. Figuratively speaking, this approach can be particularlyunderstood that an imaginary ring (reference diameter, referencedimension) is threaded in the axial direction on the driving arearegion, and this defines a particular axial position, which may differfor different tool devices. In particular, by specifying a lower limitand an upper limit, it is possible to take account of unavoidabletolerances in the manufacture of the tool device. Preferably, theselimits have been selected from a range of a few 10ths or of a few 100thsmm.

In a preferred embodiment of this series, the distance Δ for at leasttwo different tool devices of the series is substantially constant.Preferably, constant should be understood in that the distance Δ of afirst tool device and the at least one second tool device or the severalsecond tool devices is at least within this limit. In particular, thefact that the distance Δ moves within a series of tools in a narrowtolerance band, it is possible that the tool devices of a series arepositioned substantially equal in the axial direction, and thus a safeintroduction of the torque can be ensured.

In a preferred embodiment of a series of at least two tool devices, atleast two tool devices of the series have different average wallthickness t or t. In particular, by tool devices with different wallthicknesses, it is possible to make the tool device suitable to theload; because on the tools, which are intended for different uses, forexample, sawing or grinding, act different forces, and these differentforces can be taken into account, in particular by the different wallthicknesses.

In a preferred embodiment, a series comprises at least two tool devices,which have an encoding region, which is substantially equal arrangedwith respect to its position in regard to the tool axis of rotation andthe driving areas. Further preferably, each tool device comprises suchan encoding region and, preferably, each of these tools devices ischaracterized by at least one application parameter, such as inparticular a preferred driving power. Further preferably, such anapplication parameter may take into consideration the type of tool, thetype of manufacturer or other parameters of the machine tool, orpreferably it may take into consideration the power necessary fordriving the tool device. Preferably, the encoding region comprises atleast one encoding device. Preferably, this encoding device ischaracteristic for at least one of these application parameters. Inparticular, by the described configuration of the encoding region, it ispossible to keep different tools of a series for various areas ofapplication; and thus to counter overloading the tool devices from theoutset.

In a preferred embodiment of a series of at least two tool devices, atleast a first tool device comprises a first encoding device. Preferably,this first encoding device is intended to cooperate with a first codingelement, which is preferably arranged on a machine tool. Furtherpreferably, at least one second tool device of the series comprises asecond encoding device. Further preferably, the second encoding deviceis provided to cooperate with a second encoding element. Preferably, afirst encoding element is arranged on a first machine tool, and morepreferably the second encoding element is arranged on a second machinetool. Preferably, the encoding devices and the encoding elements aredesigned so that the first encoding element can cooperate with the firstencoding device and the second encoding device. Preferably, the secondencoding element is designed such that it does not cooperate with thefirst encoding device, but that it does cooperate with the secondencoding device. In particular, by this configuration of the encodingdevices, it is possible to restrict certain tools to specific machinetools. In this case, on the one hand, it can be achieved that inparticular a tool device having an attachment region, which is providedfor small driving forces, will not be received on a machine tool, whichprovides driving forces that can damage this attachment region of thetool device. On the other hand, it can be achieved that the tool devicewhich require high driving forces or have a high torque can not bereceived on a machine tool, which is not set up for this purpose. Thus,damage to the machine tool can be prevented.

In a preferred embodiment of the series of at least two tool devices,the form of a basic area of at least one of, preferably of all of theencoding devices is selected from a group of shapes. Preferably, thisgroup has at least one of the following elements:

-   -   a polygon with a plurality of corners, preferably 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,        8 or more corners,    -   a circle,    -   an ellipse,    -   an arc with a variable radius or a constant radius or    -   a combination of several of the mentioned forms.

In particular by the design of this encoding device, it can be adaptedto the respective requirements on the tool device, and thus is animproved series of tool devices can be achieved.

In a preferred embodiment, a series of at least two tool devicescomprises at least two tool devices, each one of these having encodingdevices, wherein the encoding devices have the same geometric shape, butdifferent sizes. Preferably, all tool devices comprise an encodingdevice having the same geometric shape, but at least partially differentsizes.

In a preferred embodiment, a series of at least two tool devicescomprises at least one tool device, in which the encoding device isdesigned as raised portion compared to a encoding reference plane.Preferably, an encoding reference plane should be understood as a planeperpendicular to the tool axis of rotation. Further preferably, theencoding reference plane is disposed substantially in the region of thecover surface section, or it coincides with the cover surface section.Further preferably, the series comprises a second tool device with araised second encoding region. Preferably, at least one first extensionof a encoding device is larger than the respective extension of thesecond encoding device. Preferably, the first tool device for themachine tools is provided with a high driving power, and furtherpreferably the second tool device for the machine tools is provided witha low driving power. In this case, a high driving power of the firstmachine tool should be understood in that this driving power is largerthan the driving power of the second machine tool. Preferably, thesimilar first extension on the first tool device is larger than the sameextension of the encoding device on the second tool device. By this,high-performance tools can be reserved in particular for the machines,which are intended for professional use in industry and craftsenterprises (professional machines); and tool devices can be reservedfor lower performance requirements, both on professional machines aswell as on DIY (Do-it-yourself) machines, which are intended for use inthe private sector. This makes it possible in particular to adapt thetool devices to the respective driving power, thus is improved tooldevices can be achieved.

In a preferred embodiment of a series of at least two tool devices, atleast one of the encoding devices is constructed as a recess.Preferably, all of the encoding devices of the series are constructed asrecesses. Further preferably, the encoding devices are arranged in theregion of an encoding reference plane. Preferably, at least an extensionof an encoding device is larger than the respective extension of theother encoding device. In particular, a tool device, which is intendedfor a professional machine with a high driving power has a smallencoding device. A second tool device of the same series, which isprovided in particular for a DIY-machine, has opposite to the firstencoding device a large encoding device. For this applies in particularthat a professional machine has a higher driving power in regard to aDIY machine. The tool device dedicated to the DIY machine thus fits bothon the professional machine as well as the DIY machine, while theprofessional tool can not be mounted on a DIY machine. This preventsthat DIY machines are damaged by the tool devices that are designed forhigher power ratings. In particular, the fact that the encoding device(recess) for the professional machine is smaller than the encodingdevice for the DIY-machine, particularly stable tool devices can beachieved for a large driving power.

In a preferred embodiment, a series of at least two tool devicescomprises encoding regions which are arranged in the region of thiscover surface section. Particularly, if these cover surface section arearranged in the region of an upper boundary plane, the encoding regionsare can be particularly easy accessed, and therefore is an improved tooldevice can be achieved.

A method for manufacturing a tool device according to the inventioncomprises for the manufacturing of at least one driving area region aprimary shaping process step, or a reshaping process step, or agenerative process step. Preferably, the process for the manufacturingof at least one driving area region comprises a combination of severalof the aforementioned process steps. The process steps for themanufacturing of at least one driving area region are selected from agroup of process steps comprising at least the following manufacturingmethod:

a forging, a pressing, a rolling, an extruding, a folding, a deepdrawing, a beading, a flanging, a straightening, a bending, astretching, a compressing, a sintering, a casting, a layer by layercoating or the like.

Preferably, a method for the manufacturing of a tool contour of the tooldevice has a separating process step. Preferably, it is a thermallyseparating process step, preferably a mechanically separating processstep or a combination of several of these process steps.

Further preferably, the process steps the manufacturing of the tool areselected from a group comprising at least the following process steps:

a sawing, a grinding, a milling, a punching, a shearing, a particle beamcutting, an electron beam cutting, a laser cutting, a plasma cutting, aflame cutting, and a spark erosion cutting.

Preferably, the tool device, but at least the outer form is generatedcompletely or predominantly by a generative manufacturing method.

In particular, by the aforementioned manufacturing method, it ispossible to produce a particularly precise driving area region, and thusensure a uniform introduction of the driving forces in the tool device.

The following figures show various features and embodiments of theinvention and they are partially in a schematic form, wherein acombination of the individual features and the embodiments beyond thefigures is also possible.

In a preferred embodiment, the tool device is received in such a way onoutput spindle of the machine tool that a small distance δ is obtainedbetween an end face of the output spindle and an opposite surface of thetool device, when the tool device is received on the machine tool.Preferably, this distance is substantially equal in at least two points,lying symmetrically in regard to the tool axis of rotation, preferablyat several points. Preferably, a small distance in this context shouldbe understood as a distance δ, which is in a range which is preferablysmaller than 5 mm, preferably smaller than 2.5 mm and more preferablysmaller than 1.5 mm, and most preferably smaller than 0.8 mm, andfurther preferably larger than 0.0 mm, preferably larger than 0.25 mm,and more preferably be larger than 0.5 mm. By a small distance δ, it canbe advantageously be achieved that the tool device, in particular in thecase of an overloading, is supported on the output spindle, and that atilting of the tool device is avoided or reduced. Further preferably, itcan be achieved that in the insertion into the machine tool, the tooldevice can be received in not a particularly significant skew.

In a preferred embodiment, the tool device comprises stepped drivingarea regions, wherein the stepped driving area regions can be understoodmutatis mutandis as driving area regions or tool driving area regions,and the explanations about these can be transferred to the steppeddriving area regions. Preferably, stepped should be understood in thecontext of the invention in that this driving area regions are offsetagainst the side wall of the tool device. In contrast to thenon-recessed driving area regions, the driving area regions arepreferably arranged not on or in the side wall of the tool device, butpreferably offset to it, preferably radially offset, particularlyradially spaced therefrom.

A connection device according to the invention is adapted for connectinga tool device with a machine tool, and in particular with hand guidedmachine tool. Preferably, a driving device of the machine tool drivesthe driving axis, in particular in a rotationally oscillating manner.The connection device comprises a first connection region and a secondconnection region. The first connection region is adapted for connectingthe connection device to the machine tool, wherein the connection devicecan be connected to the machine tool in such a manner that the drivingaxis and a connection rotation axis substantially coincide. The secondconnection region is adapted for connecting the connection device withthe tool device. Here, at least one of the connection regions has anattachment device, wherein the attachment device comprises at least twodriving area region.

Furthermore, at least two driving area regions are provided, which arespaced apart from the connection axis of rotation, and which each has aplurality of surface points. The term “driving area” means an area thatcan at least partially be directly or indirectly in contact with theoutput device of the machine tool, to receive the torque from themachine tool. The term “surface point” means points on the surface ofthe driving surfaces in the sense with the given definition.

For the tangent planes to the surface points special geometricconditions apply. The tangent planes are, as shown in the geometrycommon practice, the layers that are formed perpendicular to the normalvectors of the surface points and contact the surface at the surfacepoint. The term “normal vector” means a vector which is oriented in thissurface point exactly perpendicular to the surface.

The tangent planes in the surface points are inclined in two directions.On the one hand, the tangent planes are inclined in regard to an axialplane, which includes the tool axis of rotation. Further, the tangentialplanes are inclined in regard to a radial plane which extendsperpendicular to the tool axis of rotation.

The attachment device of the connection device and thus the drivingareas or the driving area region of the connection device correspondtherefore mutatis mutandis preferably to the driving area region of thetool device.

In a preferred embodiment, the connection device comprises a firstconnection region which is arranged rotationally symmetrical to theconnection axis of rotation.

Preferably, the connection axis of rotation should be understood in thesense of the tool device as the tool axis of rotation. Preferably, theconnection device is received with its attachment device on the machinetool in such a manner that the connection device can be driven aroundthe connection axis of rotation, preferably in an oscillating manner orin a rotating manner. Further preferably, the connection axis ofrotation and a first holding shaft coincide, and they are arrangedparallel to one another or obliquely to one another. By such anarrangement of the connection region, a connection device havingespecially small imbalances can be achieved.

In a preferred embodiment, the second connection region is disposedrotationally asymmetrical to the connection axis of rotation. By such anarrangement, the connection region can be arranged, in particular at asmall size, in a region of low stress.

In a preferred embodiment, the second connection region is arrangedrotationally symmetrical to the connection axis of rotation. By such anarrangement, the tool device can be received at the connection device insuch a manner that the axis of rotation of this tool means and theconnecting axis of rotation are substantially coincident with each otherand so small imbalances arise.

In a preferred embodiment, the connection device comprises a firstholding device. Preferably, said the first holding device is adapted tocooperate with at least the first connection region and the machinetool. Preferably, the holding device comprises a screw device, morepreferably a hook device, a snap fit device, or more preferably alatching device.

In particular by means of a holding device with a screw device, aparticularly simple receiving of the connection device on the machinetool can be achieved.

In a preferred embodiment, the connection device comprises at least onesecond holding device. Preferably, the second holding device is adaptedto cooperate with the second connection region and the tool device.Preferably, the tool device is received on the connection device in amaterial fit manner, preferably a form fit manner and particularlypreferably a force fit manner or in a combination of the types listed.Preferably, the second holding device comprises a screw device, morepreferably a hook device or a snap hook device, and particularlypreferably a latching device.

In a preferred embodiment, the first holding device comprises a firstholding shaft. In this case, the first holding shaft should beunderstood in the sense of the invention as the axis along which thedirection of action of a holding force extend, which can be applied bythis holding device. Preferably, for a screw device, the line ofsymmetry of it should be understood as the holding axis. Further, thesecond holding device comprises on second holding shaft, whereinpreferably the second holding shaft, mutatis mutandis corresponds to thefirst holding shaft. Preferably, this first holding shaft and thissecond holding shaft are substantially parallel, in particular congruentto each other. Preferably, the connection rotation axis coincides withthe first holding shaft. In the sense of the invention, congruent may beconstrued as coaxial. By such an arrangement of the holding device, itcan be particularly achieved, that the connection device on the machinetool and the tool device at the connection device can be receivedparticularly easy, especially in a single operation.

In a preferred embodiment, the first holding device comprises a firstholding shaft and the second holding device comprises a second holdingshaft. Preferably, the first holding shaft and second holding shaft arearranged askew, particularly skewed to each other. In the sense of theinvention, askew can be understood in that the two holding shafts arenot parallel to each other on the one hand and that they do notintersect the other in the space. By such an arrangement, a particularlystress tolerant design of the connection device can be achieved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Here, the following are showed:

FIG. 1 shows a side view (FIG. 1a ) and a plan view (FIG. 1b ) of a tooldevice with two driving area regions.

FIG. 2 shows a side view of several driving area regions, which extendin each case between an upper boundary plane and a lower boundary plane.

FIG. 3 shows a side view of several driving area regions, which extendbetween a common upper boundary plane and a common lower boundary plane.

FIG. 4 shows a sectional view of a section of the tool device.

FIG. 5 shows a plan view (FIG. 5a ) and a side view (FIG. 5b ) of twocontiguously arranged driving area regions.

FIG. 6 shows a plan view (FIG. 6a ) and a side view (FIG. 6b ) of aplurality of contiguously arranged driving area regions, these drivingarea regions being disposed circumferentially closed around the toolaxis of rotation.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a section of a tool device with a coverarea section.

FIG. 8 shows a plan view (FIG. 8a ) and a side view (FIG. 8b ) of a tooldevice with an operating region, a connection region and an attachmentregion.

FIG. 9 shows a sectional view of the tool device with a tangent plane ona surface point of the driving region with the angle of inclination a.

FIG. 10 shows a plan view of a portion of the tool device having atangent plane on a surface point of the driving region and theinclination angle ß.

FIG. 11 shows a sectional view (FIG. 11a ) and a plan view (FIG. 11b )of a tool device with a reference plane and an encoding device.

FIG. 12 shows a sectional view (FIG. 12a ) and a plan view (FIG. 12b )of a tool device of the same series, as illustrated in the FIG. 11, butwith a different encoding device.

FIG. 13 shows two sectional views of different types of encoding devicesof the tool device.

FIG. 14 shows perspective views of differently curved driving arearegions.

FIG. 15 shows a side view of a machine tool with a tool device.

FIG. 16 shows a plan view of a region of the tool device.

FIG. 17 shows a sectional view of a region of the tool device.

FIG. 18 shows a sectional view of a region of the output spindle and thetool device, which is accommodated in the machine tool.

FIG. 19 shows a sectional view, respectively (FIG. 19 a/b) and a planview (FIG. 19 c/d) of two embodiments of the tool devices with a steppeddriving area region.

FIG. 20 shows a sectional view (FIG. 20a ) and a plan view (FIG. 20b )with a further tool device with the stepped driving area region.

FIG. 21 shows a sectional view (FIG. 21a ) and a plan view (FIG. 21b )of a tool device with a raised driving area region.

FIG. 22 shows a sectional view of a tool device, the output spindle anda connection device with a first connection region and a secondconnection region.

FIG. 23 shows a sectional view of a tool device, the output spindle anda further embodiment of a connection device.

FIG. 24 shows a sectional view of another embodiment of a connectiondevice, here with a frictional torque transmission from the connectiondevice to the tool device.

FIG. 25 shows two cross-sectional views of further embodiments of theconnecting device with a form fit torque transmission (FIG. 25a , ahollow body; FIG. 25b , a solid body).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The FIG. 1 shows two views (FIG. 1a front view, FIG. 1b plan view) of atool device 1. This tool device has two driving area regions 2. Here, adriving area region 2 has several surface points 3. A tangent plane 4can be assigned to each of these surface points 3 in the driving arearegions 2. These tangent planes 4 are inclined in regard to a radialplane 6 and in regard an axial plane 7. Here, the radial plane 6 isarranged orthogonally to a tool axis of rotation 5 and an axial plane 7encloses the tool axis of rotation 5 a. The tool device 1 is providedfor a rotationally oscillating driving of a hand guided tool device (notshown). If the tool device 1 is driven by a suitable machine tool thenthe tool device 1 is put into a rotating oscillating motion around thetool axis of rotation 5. By the dual inclination of the driving arearegion 2, it can be achieved a holding free from backlash of the tooldevice 1 in the machine tool. This is particularly advantageous for asawing operation and a grinding operation or the like, since herevarying loads act on the tool device 1 with respect to the tool axis ofrotation 5, and a lost motion connection between the machine tool andthe tool device 1 may result to the knocking out of the connection, andthus in particular it may result into a damaging of the tool device 1.

The FIG. 2 shows a view of the tool device 1, in which it can be seenthat the driving area region 2 extends between each of an upper boundaryplanes 8 a and a lower boundary planes 8 b. These boundary planes 8 arepreferably arranged orthogonally to the tool axis of rotation 5. In thiscase, in each case the driving area region 2 extends from the upperboundary plane 8 a to the lower boundary plane 8 b or vice versa.Preferably, here, the lower boundary plane 8 b is located at the levelof an operating region 13. Here, an operating region should beunderstood as an example as a saw tooth, as a saw blade or the like.Thereby, the lower boundary planes 8 b is arranged substantially at thelevel of the operating region 13, a particularly deformation poortransmission of the driving forces of the driving area regions 2 on theoperating region 13 is possible. By the different boundary planes 8, andthus by the different extensions of the driving area regions 2, aparticularly good adaptability to the requirements of the tool device isprovided, in particular with regard to the space requirements, to thebacklash and to the torque transmission. In the present case, the lowerboundary planes 8 b coincides with a common lower boundary plane 8 b.The upper boundary planes 8 a do not coincide in this embodiment,resulting into driving area regions 2 of different heights.

The FIG. 3 shows a view of the tool device 1, in which all the drivingarea regions 2 are delimited by a single lower boundary plane 8 b and asingle upper boundary plane 8 a. These boundary planes 8 are arrangedperpendicular to the (fictional, geometric) tool axis of rotation 5. Thelower boundary planes 8 b is arranged substantially at the level of theoperating region 13. In the direction of the tool axis of rotation 5,the upper boundary plane 8 a is spaced away from the lower boundaryplane 8 b. If all of the driving area regions 2 extend between a singleupper boundary plane 8 a and a single lower boundary plane 8 b, then aparticularly simple manufacture of the tool device is possible, andfurther a particularly uniform transfer of the forces from the machinetool (not shown) on the tool device 1 is possible.

The FIG. 4 shows a part of the tool device 1 in a sectional view. Thetool device comprises a (fictional, geometric) tool axis of rotation 5.The tool device 1 can be driven rotationally oscillating around the toolaxis of rotation 5. The driving area region 2 is arranged spaced apartto the tool axis of rotation 5, and it extends in the direction of thetool axis of rotation 5 between the lower boundary plane 8 b and theupper boundary plane 8 a. The upper 8 a boundary plane and the lowerboundary plane 8 b are spaced apart by the distance T. Here, thedistance T is depending on the thickness t of the wall, which also hasthe driving area region 2. By this dependence, a particularly favorablerelationship between the stiffness of the driving area regions and theirsize is achieved.

The FIG. 5 shows different sectional views (FIG. 5a , top view; FIG. 5bfront view) of the tool device 1. The tool device 1 has the tool axis ofrotation 5. The driving area regions 2 are arranged symmetrically to aplane of symmetry 9. Here, the plane of symmetry 9 includes the toolaxis of rotation 5. The driving area regions 2 are arranged contiguouslyand meet in a transition region 17. This transition region 17 isdesigned in dependence on the manufacturing process or on the stress inthe force transmission to the tool device 1 and it may have a radius.The driving area regions 2 extend between the lower boundary plane 8 band the upper boundary plane 8 a, and they are spaced apart from thetool axis of rotation 5. A symmetrical and in particular contiguousarrangement of the driving area regions 2 allows the design of a highlystable tool device 1, since the driving area regions 2 can support eachother.

The FIG. 6 shows several partial views (FIG. 6a , top view; FIG. 6bfront view) of the tool device 1. The tool device 1 has a tool axis ofrotation 5, and a plurality of driving area regions 2, these drivingarea regions extend between the upper boundary plane 8 a and the lowerboundary plane 8 b. The driving area regions 2 are each arrangedcontiguously to each other and form a radially closed side wall, whichis circumferential around the tool axis of rotation 5. The driving arearegions 2 are each inclined in regard to the radial plane 6 and inregard to the associated axial planes 7. By means of such a closedcircumferential side wall, on the one hand, a particularly stable tooldevice can be achieved, and on the other hand, a particularly uniformdriving force transmission from the machine tool (not shown) on the tooldevice 1 can be achieved.

The FIG. 7 shows a detail of the tool device 1 in a sectional view. Thetool device 1 has the tool axis of rotation 5, the driving area region2, and a cover area section 10. The tool device 1 can be driven aroundthe tool axis of rotation in a rotating oscillating manner. The FIG. 7shows that the driving area region 2 is inclined in regard to the radialplane 6.

The driving area region 2 extends between the upper boundary plane 8 aand the lower boundary plane 8 b. The driving area region 2 abutssubstantially immediately to the cover area section 10 in the region ofthe upper boundary plane 8 a. By means of a thus arranged cover areasection 10, a further stabilization of the driving area regions 2 can beachieved, and for the same size of the driving area regions 2, largerdriving forces can be transmitted as without the cover area section 10.

The FIG. 8 shows several partial views (FIG. 8a plan view; FIG. 8b frontview) of the tool device 1. This tool device 1 has the (fictional,geometric) tool axis of rotation 5, a plurality of driving area regions2, and the cover area section 10. The operating region 13 of the tooldevice 1 is intended to act on a work piece or on a work piecearrangement (not shown). In each case, two driving area regions 2 arepositioned abutting one another and are connected with a further pair ofdriving area regions 2 by means of a connection region 11. The drivingarea regions 2 are arranged with rotational symmetry and they extend inthe direction of the tool axis of rotation 5 between the upper boundaryplane 8 a and the lower boundary plane 8 b. The driving area regions 2are inclined in regard to the radial plane 6 and in regard to theassigned axial planes 7. By the connection regions 11, the driving arearegions 2 form the closed side wall, which is circumferential around thetool axis of rotation 5. By means of the illustrated rotationallysymmetrical arrangement of the driving area regions 2, the tool device 1can be offset in the machine tool (not shown), provided of anappropriate design of these, so that the tool device can machine a workpiece or a work piece arrangement (not shown), which is even difficultto access.

The FIG. 9 shows a detail of the tool device 1 in a sectional view. Thetool device 1 has the tool axis of rotation 5 and the driving arearegion 2. This driving area region 2 has several surface points 3. Toeach of these surface points 3, a tangent plane 4 can be assigned. Theradial plane 6 is arranged orthogonal to the tool axis of rotation 5.The radial plane 6 includes an acute angle α with the tangent plane 4.By this angle α, and thus by the inclination of the tangent plane 4against the radial plane 6, it is particularly easy to receive the tooldevice 1 without play on the machine tool, especially when the tooldevice 1 is held on the machine tool (not shown) with a clamping force18 in the direction of the tool axis of rotation.

The FIG. 10 shows a detail of the tool device 1 in plan view, whereinthe tool axis of rotation 5 can be seen merely as a point. The axialplane 7 includes the tool axis of rotation 5 and it can be seen as astraight line in the FIG. 10. To the surface point 3 of the driving arearegion 2, a tangent plane 4 can be assigned. The driving area regions 2are positioned abutting one another and are spaced apart radially fromthe tool axis of rotation 5. The tangent plane 4 includes an acute angleß with the axial plane 7. By the angle ß in conjunction with the angleα, it is possible that the tool device 1 is centered in regard to themachine tool (not shown) when it is received in the machine tool.

The FIG. 11 shows multiple views (FIG. 11a cross-sectional view; FIG.11b top view) of the tool device 1. The tool device 1 has the tool axisof rotation 5 and a plurality of driving area regions 2, which arearranged radially spaced apart therefrom. The driving area regions 2 aresubstantially planar. Further, these driving area regions 2 are arrangedcontiguously, forming a closed side wall, which is circumferentialaround the tool axis of rotation. The driving area regions 2 extendtoward the tool axis of rotation 5 between the upper boundary plane 8 aand the lower boundary plane 8 b. In the region of the upper boundaryplane 8 a, the cover area section 10 is arranged. The cover area section10 preferably has an encoding device 16. The encoding device 16 ispreferably arranged as a circular recess in the tool axis of rotation.This circular recess has a first encoding diameter Kd_1. Other tooldevices (not shown) of the same series, which, however, are provided forother drive ratings, may have further coding diameters (Kd_2, and so on)that are different from the Kd_1. The Kd_1 indicates for example a tooldevice 1 for a professional use, the Kd_2 (not shown) indicates a tooldevice for the do-it-yourself (DIY) use. Further, a lower section of thecover area section 10 a has a distance Δ to the reference plane 14. Theposition of the reference plane 14 is defined in such a way that itcontains a reference diameter 15 (nominal outer diameter, nominal middlediameter, nominal inner diameter or the like). For different tool deviceof a series, in particular at different wall thicknesses t or also dueto unavoidable tolerances in the manufacture of the tool device,different positions results based on the position in the direction ofthe tool axis of rotation 5, for nominally the same reference diameter15. Starting from this position of the reference plane 14 in thedirection of the tool axis of rotation 5, the tool device comprises asubstantially constant distance Δ from the lower cover area section 10 ato this reference plane 14. Thereby that a plurality of tool devices ofa series have a substantially constant distance Δ between the lowercover area section 10 a and the reference plane 14, a particular simpleand safe accommodating is provided for the different tool devices 1 onthe machine tool (not shown).

The FIG. 12 shows the same views of a tool device 1 as well as the FIG.11. However, in the FIG. 12 another tool device 1 of the some series oftool device 1 is shown, which has been shown in the FIG. 11. Therefore,below are mainly discussed the differences between the tool device 1,which is shown in the FIG. 1, and the tool device 1, which is shown inthe FIG. 12. In the cover area section 10 an encoding device 16 isarranged as a recess in the tool axis of rotation 5. This encodingdevice 16 includes an encoding diameter Kd_2, while the encodingdiameter Kd_2 is smaller than the encoding diameter Kd_1 (FIG. 11). Theencoding device 16 is configured to cooperate with a second encodingelement (not shown), which is arranged on the machine tool (not shown).By such a design of the encoding means 16 in a series of tool devices,it is possible to reserve specific tool devices 1 for certain machinetools, and thus to enable a safe operation.

The FIG. 13 shows various illustrations of the different tool devices 1,particularly with regard to the encoding device 16. The FIG. 13a shows adetail of a tool device 1 with a raised encoding device 16 a. The FIG.13b shows a tool device 1 with a encoding device 16 b which is designedas a recess. For both encoding devices 16 a/b it is common that they arearranged in the region of the cover area section 10 of the tool device1. The tool device 1 comprises a plurality of driving area regions 2,which are arranged spaced apart from the tool axis of rotation 5.

The FIG. 14 shows different sections of a driving area region 2 of thetool device. Not shown is a planar driving area region, such a drivingarea region is also preferably possible. The FIG. 14a shows aunidirectionally curved section of the driving area region 2. Thissection of the driving area region 2 can be described by the straightlines a and by the curved grid lines b_(I). The curved grid lines b_(I)have a constant radius of curvature R_(I). Such a driving area region 2corresponds to, in sections, a cylinder jacket surface, as far asseveral different radii of curvature R_(I) are provided, it correspondsto a conical surface (not shown). In this case, the size of the radiusof curvature R_(I) is selected in such a way that the driving arearegion 2 changes in sections during the transmission of the drivingforces to a plane or that it adapts to the opposite surface (not shown)which cooperates with it to transmit the driving forces. The FIG. 14bshows a section of the driving area region 2 with a bidirectionalcurvature. This section of the driving area region 2 can be described bythe curved grid lines b_(I) and by the curved grid lines b_(II). Thegrid lines b_(I) have the constant radius of curvature R_(I) and thegrid lines b_(II) have the constant radius of curvature R_(II). Such adriving area region 2 corresponds to, for the special case that thefirst radius of curvature R_(I) and the second radius of curvatureR_(II) are of the same size, a spherical surface. In the FIG. 14b adriving area region 2 with different radii of curvature R_(I) and R_(II)are shown. In this case, the size of the radii of curvature R_(I) andR_(II) can be selected such that the driving area region 2 at leastpartially changes during the transmission of the driving forces to aplane or that it adapts it to the counter surface (not shown) whichcooperates with it to transmit the driving forces. The FIG. 14c shows asection of one driving area region 2 with the bidirectional curvature.This section of the drive surface area 2 can be described by the gridlines b_(I) having a constant radius of curvature R_(I) and by the gridlines b_(Ia) having a variable radius of curvature R_(Ia). In such adriving area region 2, also all the grid lines can have a variableradius of curvature (not shown). The size of the radii of curvatureR_(Ia) and R_(II) can be selected in such a way that the driving arearegion 2 changes during the transmission of the driving forces insections to a plane or that it adapts it to the counter surface (notshown) which cooperates with it to transmit the driving forces. In theFIG. 14, a concave curved driving area region 2 is shown, the expressedconsiderations can be transferred to a convex curved driving arearegion, accordingly.

The FIG. 15 shows a tool device 1 which is accommodated in a machinetool 22. The tool device 1 comprises an attachment device 12, by whichit is connected to the machine tool 22. The machine tool 22 has anoutput spindle 22 a, which introduces the driving forces into the tooldevice 1, in particular into its attachment device 12. The outputspindle 22 a moves around the machine tool axis of rotation 22 c, inparticular rotationally oscillating, thereby also the tool device 1 isbrought in a similar motion. The tool device 1 has an operating region13, which is adapted to act on a work piece or a work piece arrangement(not shown). The driving forces of the machine tool 22 are transmittedto the operating region 13 by the tool connection region 11 of theattachment device 12. The machine tool 22 has an operating lever 22 b,which is adapted to permit a change of the tool device 1.

The FIG. 16 and the FIG. 17 show a tool device 1 in different views. TheFIG. 16 shows a plan view and the FIG. 17 shows a sectional view of thetool device 1. The shown attachment device 12 of the tool device 1 isshown in the FIGS. 16 and 17 as a star-shaped polygon with roundedcorners (connection regions 11). Here, the below discussedinterrelationships can be applied least mutatis mutandis to other formsof such an attachment device 12.

In the plan view, FIG. 16, the rounded corners (connection regions 11)of the polygon can be seen. A so-called arm of the polygon is formed bytwo the driving area regions 2 and by the connection region 11. Theindividual arms are offset by an equidistant angle k12 to each other.Preferably, the, preferably equidistant, angle k12 results from therelationship: Full circle/(number of arms)=k12; for the present case 360degrees/12=30 degrees. Preferably, by the equidistant angle k12, it ispossible to accommodate the tool device 1 in different rotationalpositions in the machine tool. In present case, the tool device (notshown) can be offset in discrete steps of 30 degrees in regard to themachine tool.

The tool device 1 has in its cover area section 10 a, preferablycircular, recess with a diameter k10. Further preferably, for thisrecess, forms are also possible differing from the circular shape.

Preferably, this recess has a substantially circular shape and it mayhave additionally recesses, preferably polygonal recesses or preferablyspline-like recesses, which extend starting from the circular recess,preferably extending radially outward. Preferably, by these recesses, astar-like polygon is obtained having preferably circular sections.Particularly advantageously, such recesses may be used for tool devices,which are intended particularly for high loads, especially in diving sawblades or the like.

Further preferably, the diameter k10 corresponds to one of the diameterskd_1 or kd_2 for the tool devices of a series of at least two tools.This recess in the cover area section 10 is preferably adapted such thatthe tool devices 1 is held on the machine tool.

Preferably, this recess should be understood as athrough-recess/through-hole of a holding device (not shown), inparticular of a screw device. The choice of the diameter k10 can dependon various parameters, preferably om the dimension of the holding device(not shown) of the machine tool. This holding device is particularlydimensioned in such a way that the tool device 1 is held securely on themachine tool.

The diameters k2 and k3 describe the outer diameters of the attachmentdevice. In a preferred embodiment, the outer diameter of k2 ispreferably selected from a range between 30 mm and 36 mm, preferablyfrom 32 mm to 34 mm, particularly preferred the outer diameter k2 issubstantially 33.35 mm (+/−0.1 mm).

In a preferred embodiment, the outer diameter k3 is preferably selectedfrom a range between 22 mm and 27 mm, preferably from 24 mm to 26 mm,particularly preferably the outer diameter k3 is substantially 25 mm(+1-0.1 mm).

The distance k1 defines the distance of the two driving area regions 2,which are in this view parallel to each other (in a spatial view, thedriving area regions 2 are inclined to each other). Compared with ascrew head (for example, a hexagon or square) the distance k1corresponds to a key width.

In a preferred embodiment, this key width k1 is preferably selected froma range between 26 mm and 30 mm, preferably from a range between 27 mmand 29 mm, more preferably, the key length is substantially 28.4 mm(+1-0.1 mm).

The diameter 15 indicates a reference diameter for the attachment device12 of the tool device 1. In a preferred embodiment, the referencediameter 15 is preferably selected from a range between 31 mm and 33 mm,preferably from a range between 31.5 mm and 32.5 mm, and particularlypreferably the reference diameter 15 is substantially 32 mm (+1-0.1 mm).Here, the reference diameter 15 is further preferably characterized inthat the at least two different tool devices of a series of tools—seenin the direction of the tool axis of rotation 5—are substantially at thesame level (+1-0.1 mm).

In the sectional view (FIG. 17), in particular the cross-sectional areaof the attachment device 12 is particularly well recognizable. In apreferred embodiment, the tool device 1 has in the region of itsattachment means 12 a, preferably substantially constant, wall thicknesst1. More preferably, this wall thickness t1 is selected from a rangebetween 0.75 mm and 1.75 mm, preferably it is selected from a range of 1mm to 1.5 mm, and more preferably the wall thickness t1 corresponds tosubstantially 1.25 mm (+1-0.1 mm).

It has been found that especially a long service life for the tooldevice 1 can be achieved if certain transitions are rounded at theattachment device 12 of the tool device 1 (preferably, the radii: k6,k7, k8, k9).

In a preferred embodiment, at least one of the radii k6, k7, k8, and k9,preferably several of them, more preferably all of them are oriented onthe wall thickness t1. Here, preferably from a larger wall thickness t1follows an enlargement of these radii, preferably at least of the radiik7 and k9.

In a preferred embodiment (wall thickness t1=1.25 mm), the radius k6 ispreferably selected from a range between 1 mm and 2.5 mm, preferably itis selected from a range between 1.5 mm and 2.1 mm, and particularlypreferably the radius k6 is substantially 1.8 mm (+/−0.1 mm).

In a preferred embodiment (t1=1.25 mm), the radius k7 is selected from arange between 0.5 mm and 1.5 mm, preferably it is selected from a rangebetween 0.8 mm and 1.2 mm, and particularly preferably the radius k7 issubstantially 1 mm (mm+/−0.1).

In a preferred embodiment (t1=1.25 mm), the radius k8 is selected from arange between 0.2 mm and 0.6 mm, preferably it is selected from a rangebetween 0.3 mm and 1.5 mm, and particularly preferably the radius k8 issubstantially 0.4 mm (+/−0.05 mm).

In a preferred embodiment (t1=1.25 mm), the radius k9 is selected from arange between 2 mm and 3.5 mm, preferably it is selected from a rangebetween 2.4 mm and 3 mm, and particularly preferably the radius k9 issubstantially 2.7 mm (+/−0.1 mm).

The driving area regions 2 are inclined in the illustration of the FIG.17 by the angle k13 in regard to an imaginary vertical line (parallel tothe tool axis of rotation 5). In a preferred embodiment, this angle isselected from a range between 10 degrees and 30 degrees, preferably itis selected from a range between 17.5 degrees and 22.5 degrees, and morepreferably the angle k13 is substantially 20 degrees (+/−0.5 degrees).

Further preferably, the other dimensions of the tool device depend onthe wall thickness t1, more preferably at least the radii k6, k7, k8,and k9, wherein a larger wall thickness t1 tends to lead to larger radiik6, k7, k8, and k9, preferably at least to larger radii k9 and k6.

The diameter k2 preferably indicates the region of the driving arearegions 2, from which it extends in a straight line. After thisrectilinear extension, the driving area regions extend, preferably intothe radius k9, and then into the cover area section 10.

Preferably, the measure k5 and the radius k7 are interdependent. Morepreferably, the measure k5 is selected from a range between 0.1 mm and 1mm, preferably it is selected from a range between 0.3 mm and 0.7 mm,and particularly preferably the measure k5 is substantially 0.5 mm(+/−0.1 mm).

The radius k6 is preferably facing the radius k7 and it is larger thanthis. Also the radius k9 and the radius k8 are facing each otherpreferably, more preferably, the radius k8 is smaller than the radiusk9.

In a preferred embodiment, the driving area regions 2 extend at a level(the direction is parallel to the tool axis of rotation) at least forthe measure k14 substantially in straight line. Here, a straight lineaccording to the invention should be understood in that it has nosignificant curvature, preferably standing in the unloaded condition,more preferably in a loaded condition. Preferably, the measure k14 isselected from a range between 1 mm and 3.5 mm, preferably it is selectedfrom a range between 1.5 mm and 2.5 mm, and particularly preferred thedimension k14 is substantially 2 mm (+/−0.25 mm). Preferably, themeasure k14 should be understood as the shortest linear course of thedriving area regions 2.

The recess in the cover area section, which is preferably adapted tocooperate with the holding device (not shown) of the machine tool (notshown) has the diameter k10. The recess with the diameter k10 is notnecessarily a circular recess as shown in the FIG. 16 and the FIG. 17,but this recess may, independently from the remaining appearance of thetool device 1, also have a different shape (polygon or the like).

In a preferred embodiment, the attachment region 12 has a depth k11,more preferably, the depth k11 is selected from a range between 3.5 mmand 6 mm, preferably it is selected from a range between 4.5 mm and 5mm, and particularly preferably the depth k11 is substantially 4.7 mm(+0.15 mm).

In a preferred embodiment, the attachment region 12 has a height k15,further preferably the height k15 is selected from a range between 4.5mm and 7.5 mm, preferably it is selected from a range between 5.5 mm and6.5 mm, and more preferably the height k15 is substantially 6 mm (+/−0.2mm).

The FIG. 18 shows a tool device 1, which by means of a screw device(fixing screw 9 d, washer 9 e, nut member 9 f) is attached to the outputspindle 22 a of the machine tool. The tool device 1 has an operatingregion 13 to act on a work piece or on a work piece arrangement. Fromthe tool driving area region 2, the driving forces are transmitted tothe operating region 13. In this case, the tool device 1 is held bymeans of the fastening screw 9 d, which exerts its force action by thewasher 9 e to the tool device 1 on of the machine tool. The transmissionof the driving forces from the machine tool to the tool device 1 isachieved substantially by the form fit engagement of the driving arearegion 2 in the counter surfaces in the output spindle 22 a. The outputspindle 22 a is rotationally driven by the oscillating machine toolrotation axis 22 c, and transmits this motion to the tool device 1, sothat this moves oscillating rotationally around the tool axis ofrotation 5. The tool device 1 is held on the machine tool in such a waythat the tool axis of rotation 5 and the machine tool axis of rotation22 c are substantially coincident.

The FIG. 19 shows two versions of a tool device 1 having with steppeddriving area region 2 a. This drive surface portions 2 a are arrangedabove the cover area section 10, and preferably they are non-rotatablyconnected with it, preferably by a form fit locking or a material fitlocking, and more preferably welded, riveted, screwed or the like. Here,the FIG. 19 a) and b) each shows a sectional illustration. The FIGS. 19c) and d) each show a plan view from above of such a tool device 1. Theillustration of the tool device 1 in the FIG. 19 is based substantiallyon the illustration of the FIG. 18, but it is not limited to it.Therefore, below are addressed primarily the differences between them.

In a tool device 1, as it is shown in the FIGS. 19 a) and c), the angleα is substantially equal to 90 degrees. Thereby, it advantageouslyallows an easy manufacture of the tool device. In the tool device 1, asthis is illustrated in the FIGS. 19 b) and d), the angle α issubstantially less than 90 degrees. Thereby, advantageously, a largertransmission area for the torque transmission can be achieved.

Next, the FIG. 19 shows how the tool device 1 is attached to the outputspindle 22 a of the machine tool, preferably by means of a screw device(fixing screw 9 d, washer 9 e, nut member 9 f). The tool device 1 has anoperating region 13 to act on a work piece or on a work piecearrangement. By means of the fastening device between the tool device 1and the output spindle 22 a, here preferably designed as a screw device(mounting screw 9 d, washer 9 e, female connection 9 f), the tool device1 is received on the machine tool and a force is exerted in thedirection of the tool axis of rotation 5.

If the tool device is received as scheduled in the machine tool, a smalldistance δ is obtained between one of the output spindle 22 a facingsurface of the tool device 1 and a front surface 22 d of the outputspindle 22 a. Preferably, the small distance δ should be understood as asmall distance which is in a range, preferably it is smaller than 5 mm,preferably it is smaller than 2.5 mm, and more preferably it is smallerthan 1, 5 mm, and most preferably it is smaller than 0.8 mm. Furtherpreferably, this range is larger than 0.0 mm, preferably it is largerthan 0.25 mm, and most preferably it is larger than 0.5 mm.

From the stepped driving area regions 2 a, the driving forces aretransmitted to the operating region 13. In this case, the tool device 1is held on the machine tool by means of the washer 9 e, which exerts aforce action by means of the fastening screw 9 d on the tool device 1.The transmission of the driving forces of the machine tool on the tooldevice 1 is achieved primarily by the form fit engagement (form fitconnection) to the stepped driving area region 2 a in the oppositesurfaces in the output spindle 22 a. The output spindle 22 a isrotationally driven by the oscillating machine tool rotation axis 22 c,and transmits this motion to the tool device 1, so that it movesrotationally oscillating around the tool axis of rotation 5.

The tool device 1 is held on the machine tool in such a way that thetool axis of rotation 5 and the machine tool axis of rotation 22 c aresubstantially coincident.

The FIG. 20 shows a further variant of a tool device 1 with the steppeddriving area regions 2 a. The stepped driving area regions 2 a arepreferably substantially above, preferably directly above the operatingregion 13 in the direction of the output spindle 22 a, and respectivelypreferably they are arranged on a surface of the tool device 1. Furtherpreferably, this surface of the tool device is adapted to lie oppositeto the end face 22 d of the output spindle 22 a, when the tool device isreceived by the machine tool. The driving area regions 2 a arepreferably rotationally fixedly connected to the tool device 1,preferably by a form fit locking or a material fit locking, morepreferably welded, riveted, screwed or the like, or particularlypreferably configured integral. The FIG. 20 a) shows a sectional view,the FIG. 20 b) shows a plan view from above of such a tool device 1. Itcan be seen in the plan view (FIG. 20b ) that the stepped driving arearegions 2 a are distributed in a star-shaped manner around the tool axisof rotation. The illustration of the tool device 1 in the FIG. 20 isbased primarily on the illustration of the FIG. 18 and the FIG. 19, butit should be not limited to these. Therefore, below are addressedprimarily the differences between them.

Next, the FIG. 20 shows how the tool device 1 is attached to the outputspindle 22 a of the machine tool, preferably by means of a screw device(fixing screw 9 d, washer 9 e, nut member 9 f). The tool device 1 has anoperating range 13 to act on a work piece or on a work piecearrangement. By means of the fastening device, here preferablyconfigured as a screw device (fixing screw 9 d, washer 9 e, femaleconnection 9 f) between the tool device 1 and the output spindle 22 a,the tool device 1 is received in the machine tool, and a force isexerted in the direction of the tool axis of rotation 5.

When the tool device is received as scheduled in the machine tool, asmall distance δ is obtained between one of the output shaft 22 a facingsurface of the tool device 1 and the end face 22 d of the output shaft22 a. Preferably, the small distance δ is in the range as it is proposedin the embodiment of the FIG. 19.

The holding of the tool device as well as the transmission of thedriving forces on the tool device is performed in the same manner as inthe embodiment shown the FIG. 19.

In a further embodiment, at least one stepped driving area region 2 acan be arranged below the top surface section (FIG. 19) and the abovetool surface (FIG. 20), which faces the machine tool in the area of theoutput spindle 22 c, preferably it the stepped driving area region 2 ais spaced both below from the cover area section and above from theaforementioned range of the tool surface. This embodiment can bevisually perceived as an intermediate variant compared to theembodiments shown in the FIG. 19 and the FIG. 20. Further preferably,the stepped driving area region 2 a can be formed integrally with atleast a portion of the tool device 1 or, preferably, as a separatecomponent, as shown in the FIG. 19 and the FIG. 20, be connected to thetool device 1. The stepped driving area region and the tool device arepreferably cohesively, non-positively or positively at such aconnection, preferably welded, soldered, riveted, screwed or glued.

The FIG. 21 shows an embodiment of a tool device 1 having raised drivingarea regions 2 b. The FIG. 21 a) shows a sectional view of such a tooldevice, the FIG. 21 b) shows the corresponding top view of the tooldevice 1. These raised driving area regions 2 b can preferably havecylindrical portions, as shown in the FIG. 21. Further preferably, itcan be carried out alternatively as truncated cones or else preferablyas sections with a polygon-shaped cross-section. The shape of the raiseddriving area regions 2 b is preferably independent of the rest of thedesign of the tool device.

This drive surface areas 2 b are preferably arranged substantially abovethe operating region 13 in the direction of the output spindle 22 a, oron a surface of the tool device 1. Further preferably, this surface ofthe tool device is adapted to lie opposite to the end face 22 d of theoutput spindle 22 a, if the tool device 1 is received in the machinetool. The driving area regions 2 b are preferably rotatably connected tothe tool device 1, preferably form fit or material fit, especiallypreferably welded, riveted, screwed or the like, or most preferablyconfigured integral. In this case (FIG. 21b ), it can be seen in planview that the raised driving area regions 2 b are distributed preferablyrotationally symmetrical, more preferably at an equidistant distance oran integer multiple of an equidistant distance, around the tool axis ofrotation. The illustration of the tool device 1 in the FIG. 21 is basedprimarily on the illustration of the FIG. 18 to FIG. 20, but it shouldbe not limited to this.

Next, the FIG. 21 shows how the tool device 1 is attached to the outputspindle 22 a of the machine tool, preferably by means of a screw device(fixing screw 9 d, washer 9 e, nut member 9 f). The tool device 1 has anoperating region 13 to act on a work piece or on a work piecearrangement. By means of the fastening device, here preferably as ascrew device (fixing screw 9 d, washer 9 e, female connection 9 f)configured between the tool device 1 and the output spindle 22 a, thetool device 1 is received on the machine tool and a force is exerted inthe direction of the tool axis of rotation 5.

When the tool device is received as scheduled in the machine tool, asmall clearance 6 is obtained between the output spindle 22 a facingsurface of the tool device 1 and the end face 22 d of the output spindle22 a. The distance δ is preferably in the range as it is proposed in theembodiment of the FIG. 19.

The holding of the tool device is performed in the same manner as in theembodiment shown in the FIG. 19. In the embodiment (FIG. 21) with raiseddriving surface regions 2 b these engage in corresponding matingsurfaces on the machine tool, and the transmission of the driving forceson the tool device is performed in a form fit manner.

The FIG. 22 shows a sectional view of a connection device 1 a for theconnecting of a third tool device 1 b with an output spindle 22 a of themachine tool. The connection device 1 a is held to the output spindle 22a and thus to the machine tool by means of a first holding device 30.The holding device 30 preferably has a fastening screw 9 d and a washer9 e, a nut member 9 f is disposed in the output spindle 22 a. Theconnection device 1 a is received at the output spindle 22 a in such away that a small distance θ is obtained between an end face 22 d of theoutput spindle 22 a and a surface of the connection device facing of thetool device, preferably the surface opposite to the end face 22 d. Bythe short distance, it can be achieved a secure receiving of theconnection device 1 a at the output spindle 22 a. At the connectiondevice 1 a, a third tool device 1 b can be attached by means of a secondholding device 31. The second holding device 31 comprises a secondholding shaft 31 a, the first holding device 30 a has a first holdingshaft 30 a. The first holding shaft 30 a substantially coincides withthe connection axis of rotation. The first holding shaft 30 a and thesecond holding shaft 31 a are arranged obliquely to each other. Thethird tool device 1 b has a operating region 13, this operating region13 is adapted to act on a work piece arrangement.

For a form fit torque transmission, the connection device 1 a comprisesan attachment device with driving area regions 2. The driving arearegions 2 are engaged with the output spindle 22 a in counter surfaces.By this form fit engagement, the driving forces are safely transmittedfrom the output spindle 22 a driven by the machine tool axis of rotation22 c in a rotating-oscillating manner to the connection device 1 a, andthus to the second tool device.

The connecting device 1 a is connected in a first connection region 32 awith the machine tool, and a holding force acting on the connectiondevice 1 a is preferably applied in the direction of the first holdingshaft 30 a, or respectively a movement of the connection device 1 a inthe direction of the first holding shaft is, at least partially,prevented. Further, the third tool device 1 b can be connected in asecond connection region 32 b of the connection device 1 a. In thiscase, this connection can be a form fit connection, preferably amaterial fit connection, or more preferably a force fit connection.Preferably, in the direction of the second holding shaft 31 a, a holdingforce is exerted on the tool device 1 b or on the connection device 1 a,respectively. Preferably, the second holding device 31 comprises a screwdevice, more preferably for applying the holding force effect.

The FIG. 23 shows a sectional view of a connection device 1 a, which issimilar to the connection device shown in the FIG. 22. Therefore, beloware addressed primarily the differences between these two connectiondevices.

The third tool device 1 b is held on the connection device 1 a by meansof the second holding device 31. The second holding device 31 exerts inthe direction of the second holding shaft 31 a a holding force effect ofthe third tool device 1 b, and preferably also on the connection device1 a. The tool device 1 we connected via the second connection portion 32b to the connecting means 1 a. In this case, this connection can bepreferably a form fit connection, preferably a material fit connection,or more preferably a force fit connection. The second support shaft 31 ais oriented substantially parallel to the first support shaft 30 a, morepreferably, the first and second supporting shaft spaced from eachother.

The FIG. 24 shows a sectional view of a connecting device, whichessentially corresponds to that of FIG. 22 and also of the connectingdevice shown in FIG. 23. The following will therefore focus on thedifferences between these embodiments.

The third tool device 1 b is held by means of the first holding device30 and the second connection region 32 b of the connection device 1 a.The first holding device 30 exerts in the direction of the first holdingshaft 30 a of a holding force on the third tool device 1 b, andpreferably also on the connection device 1 a. This connection may bepreferably a form fit connection, preferably a material fit connection,or more preferably a force fit connection. Further preferably, saidthird tool device and said connecting device comprise raised recessessections, preferably, these raised sections are in connection with theserecesses for a form fit torque transmission from the connecting device 1a to the third tool device 1 b.

The FIG. 25a shows a sectional view of a connection device with form fittorque transmission from the connection device on the tool device. Theconnecting device is at least partially formed as a hollow body, andthereby it has, in particular a low moment of inertia. Both theembodiments illustrated in the FIG. 25a and in the FIG. 25b are similarto the previously described embodiments of the connection device.Therefore, below are addressed primarily the differences between thesetwo connection devices.

The tool device 1 is held on the output shaft 22 a of the machine toolby means of a first holding device 30, in particular a fastening screw 9d, a washer 9 e and nut member 9 f. The torque transmission from theconnection device on the tool device 1 is at least partly achieved bymeans of the form fitting elements 33 rd. The form fitting elements 33may preferably be integrally formed with the connection device, orpreferably as own components inserted into these, or fixed to these.

The connection device is received in the axial direction, i.e. in thedirection of the machine tool axis of rotation 22 c in such a mannerthat a small distance θ is obtained.

Thereby, it can be achieved that the connection device can be held onthe machine tool, as far as the tool device is severely stressed, inparticular by bending momentums perpendicular to the tool axis ofrotation. In particular, by this holding, a tilting of the tool devicecan be counteracted, and the connection device and with it the tooldevice can be particularly securely received on the machine tool.

The connection device may preferably be composed of several parts,particularly preferably the base body is composed of the two parts 34and 35. Thereby, it can be achieved that the connection device has onthe one hand a low weight (hollow body), and that on the other hand itconsist of parts which are relatively simple to produce.

Further preferably, these several parts can be connected to one anotherat one or several connection points 36 in a material fit manner. By sucha configuration of the connection device, a particularly easy connectiondevice can be achieved, which in particular due to low forces of inertiaonly a low stress induce.

Next, the tool device 1 is accommodated on the output spindle 22 a bymeans of the connection device in such a way that the tool axis ofrotation 5 and the machine tool axis of rotation 22 c are substantiallycoincident. The connecting device is connected in a first connectingportion 32 a with the output spindle 22 a of the machine tool.Furthermore, the tool device 1 is connected in a second connectionregion 32 b to the connection device. In this case, the drive torque istransmitted to the connection device (first connection portion 32 a)from the machine tool by means of the driving area region 2 in form fitmatter.

The form fitting elements 33 (FIG. 25 a/b) are preferably spaced apartto the tool axis of rotation 5. Furthermore, these are offset around thetool axis of rotation preferably by an equidistant angle or, preferably,by an integer multiple of such an angle. Further preferably, the formfitting elements 33 or a plurality of groups of the form fittingelements are arranged with rotational symmetry around the tool axis ofrotation.

The tool device 1 has an operating region 13, which is adapted to act ona work piece or on a work piece arrangement (not shown).

The FIG. 25b shows a sectional view of a connection device with form fittorque transmission from the connection device on the tool device 1(second connection portion 32 b). Here, the connection device is, unlikefor the embodiment shown in the FIG. 25a , formed essentially as a solidbody and it has, in particular a high form stability, and it isparticularly easy to manufacture. The embodiment illustrated in the FIG.25b corresponds essentially to the embodiment shown in the FIG. 25a .Therefore, below are addressed primarily the differences between theseembodiments.

The tool device 1 is held on the output spindle 22 a of the machine toolby means of a first holding device 30, which has in particular afastening screw 9 d, a washer 9 e, and a nut member 9 f. The torquetransmission from the connection device to the tool device 1 is at leastpartly achieved by means of the form fitting elements 33.

The connection device is received in the axial direction, i.e. in thedirection of the machine tool axis of rotation 22 c in such a way that asmall distance δ is obtained, whereby a particularly secure receiving ofthe tool device on the machine tool can be achieved.

The connection device, in particular its base body, may preferably beformed integral, preferably at least the base body of the connectiondevice is produced by a primary shaping manufacturing method or by areshaping manufacturing method such as these have already been describedalso for the manufacturing of the tool device, preferably a forging, asintering, generative manufacturing processes and the like.

By means of the connection device, the tool device 1 so received on theoutput spindle 22 a, that the tool axis of rotation and the machine toolaxis of rotation substantially coincide. The connecting device isconnected in a first connecting portion 32 a with the output shaft 22 a.Further, the tool device 1 is connected in a second connection region 32b to the connection device. In this case, also the driving torque istransmitted from the machine tool to the connection device by thedriving area regions 2 in a form fit manner.

The tool device 1 has an operating region 13, which is adapted to act ona work piece or on work piece arrangement (not shown).

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

-   1 tool device-   1 a connection device-   1 b second tool device-   2 driving area region/tool driving area region-   2 a stepped driving area region-   2 b raised driving area region-   3 surface point-   4 tangent plane-   5 tool axis of rotation-   6 radial plane-   7 axial plane-   8 boundary plane-   8 a upper boundary plane-   8 b lower boundary plane-   9 plane of symmetry-   9 d fastening screw-   9 e washer-   9 f nut member-   9 g tie bar device-   10 cover surface section-   10 a lower section of the cover surface section-   11 connection region-   12 attachment device-   13 operating region-   14 reference plane-   15 reference diameter-   16 encoding device-   16 a raised encoding device-   16 b encoding device having a recess-   17 transition region-   22 machine tool-   22 a output spindle-   22 b operating lever-   22 c machine tool axis of rotation-   22 d end face of the output spindle-   30 first holding device-   30 a first holding shaft-   31 second holding device-   31 a second holding shaft-   32 a first connection region-   32 b second connection region-   33 form fit element-   34 first subcomponent of the connection device-   35 second subcomponent of the connection device-   36 connecting region between 34 and 35-   α first inclination angle-   ß second inclination angle-   t thickness of the side wall-   T extension of a driving area region-   R_(I) first radius of curvature of a driving area region-   R_(Ia) variable radius of curvature of a driving area region-   R_(II) second radius of curvature of a driving area region-   a straight extending grid line of a driving area region-   b_(I) first curved grid line of a driving area region-   b_(II) second curved grid line of a driving area region-   b_(I) a third grid line with variable curvature of a driving area    region-   Δ distance to 14-   δ distance from tool device to output spindle in the direction of 5-   k1 key width, spacing of parallel driving surface areas-   k2 first outside diameter of the attachment device-   K3 second outer diameter of the attachment device-   k4 reference diameter-   K5 rounding region-   k6 first radius of curvature-   K7 second rounding radius-   K8 third radius of curvature-   k9 fourth radius of curvature-   k10 diameter of the recess-   k11 deep attachment device-   k12 polygon angle-   k13 inclination angle

What is claimed is:
 1. A tool device, which is suitable for use with amachine tool having a driving device moving around a driving axis, thetool device having an attachment device by which the tool device isarranged to be fastened to a machine tool in such a manner that thedriving axis and a tool axis of rotation are substantially coincident,wherein, for receiving a driving force, the attachment device comprisesat least two driving area regions each having a plurality of surfacepoints and which are spaced apart to the tool axis of rotation, whereintangent planes are inclined on the surface points in regard to an axialplane, which includes the tool axis of rotation, wherein the tangentplanes are inclined in regard to a radial plane, which extendsperpendicular to the tool axis of rotation, wherein the attachmentdevice comprises a side wall, wherein the side wall extends radiallyspaced from the tool axis of rotation, the side wall extends between afirst upper boundary plane and a second lower boundary plane, and theside wall comprises the driving area regions.
 2. The tool deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein at least one of the driving area regionsis, at least in sections, substantially planar.
 3. The tool deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein at least one of the driving area regionsis, at least in sections, curved.
 4. The tool device according to claim1, wherein the tool device comprises in a region of the attachmentdevice at least one first upper boundary plane and at least one secondlower boundary plane, wherein the boundary planes are disposedsubstantially perpendicular to said tool axis of rotation, wherein theboundary planes are spaced apart from each other, and wherein each ofthe driving area regions is arranged between one of the at least onefirst, upper boundary plane and one of the at least one second, lowerboundary plane.
 5. The tool device according to claim 4, wherein aplurality of the driving areas regions extend between a single one firstupper boundary plane and a single one second lower boundary plane. 6.The tool device according to claim 4, wherein the tool device has a wallthickness of substantially t, wherein at least a first boundary planeand a second boundary plane are spaced apart from each other by adistance T, and wherein the distance T is greater than 1 times t and issmaller than 20 times t.
 7. The tool device according to claim 1,wherein the tool device has a plurality of driving area regions, whichare arranged rotationally symmetrical around the tool axis of rotation.8. The tool device according to claim 1, wherein at least two of thedriving area regions are arranged symmetrically to a plane of symmetry,wherein the tool axis of rotation is located in the plane of symmetry.9. The tool device according to claim 1, wherein the side wall has anaverage wall thickness (t₁), which is greater than or equal to 0.2 mmand less than or equal to 4 mm.
 10. The tool device according to claim1, wherein the side wall extends substantially radially closed aroundthe tool axis of rotation.
 11. The tool device according to claim 1,wherein the attachment device comprises a cover area section, whereinthe cover area section is directly or indirectly connected to at leastone of the driving area regions, and wherein the cover area sectionextends in a direction which has at least one component perpendicular tothe tool axis of rotation.
 12. The tool device according to claim 11,wherein the cover area section is disposed substantially in a region ofone of the first upper boundary planes.
 13. The tool device according toclaim 11, wherein the cover area section extends radially towards thetool axis of rotation, and the cover area section has at least onerecess.
 14. The tool device according to claim 13, wherein the recess orseveral of the recesses are arranged substantially in a region of thetool axis of rotation.
 15. The tool device according to claim 13,wherein one of the or several of the recesses are arranged rotationallysymmetrically around the tool axis of rotation.
 16. The tool deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein a normal vector on one of the tangentplanes is oriented away from the tool axis of rotation in the radialdirection.
 17. The tool device according to claim 1, wherein a normalvector on one of the tangent planes is oriented in the radial directionto the tool axis of rotation.
 18. The tool device according to claim 1,wherein the tool device comprises at least one operating region, atleast one attachment device and at least one connection region and theoperating region is arranged to act on a work piece arrangement or on awork piece, and wherein a connection region is arranged between theattachment device and each of the operating regions.
 19. The tool deviceaccording to claim 19, wherein the tool device comprises in the regionof the attachment device at least one first, upper boundary plane and atleast one second, lower boundary plane, wherein the boundary planes aredisposed substantially perpendicular to said tool axis of rotation,wherein the boundary planes are spaced apart from each other, andwherein each of the driving area regions is arranged between one of theat least one first, upper boundary plane and one of the at least onesecond, lower boundary plane, wherein at least one of the connectionregions is arranged substantially in the region of one of the secondlower boundary planes.
 20. The tool device according to claim 1, whereinan angle α is enclosed between one of the tangent planes and the radialplane, wherein the radial plane is arranged perpendicular to the toolaxis of rotation, wherein the angle α is equal to or smaller than 90degrees, and the angle α is larger than 0 degrees.